


When the ocean is quiet

by Shaalara



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Keith is an Alien, Lance is a mermaid, M/M, Slow Burn, Some angst, and shiro has just given up on a normal life at this point, when you think you have your life on track but then you crack and end up writing klance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-21
Updated: 2017-10-22
Packaged: 2019-01-21 00:25:22
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,671
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12445290
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shaalara/pseuds/Shaalara
Summary: The gang runs a café in a small, coastal town. But sometimes people are more than what they appear to be.





	1. Everything is not what it seems

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first klance fic. Tfw when you think you can forget about Voltron but end up writing a fic, So here it is! hopefully you'll like it!!

 

The last customer left the small corner street café slightly after five, escorted out by Lance.

“Next time you come, I’ll take your number as payment.” He said, leaning against the auburn frame as she stepped outside. Her black hair floated gently, carried by the marine wind of the nearby ocean.

She giggled. “You’re funny. I’ll come again.” She said as she waved briefly.

Lance stood there watching her leave for a few seconds, enjoying the sight. It had only been a few months since he had come to work at the café, and the work suited him more than he thought it would. Although his stay in the small coastal town was temporary, he enjoyed the new experiences it brought him. And humans…Humans were fun.

“I still don’t get how your flirting works.” Shiro was standing behind him, arms crossed, studying the situation.

“Tsk tsk tsk Shiro.” Lance started, waving his index finger. “It’s all about the attitude, the attitude. If you smiled a bit more, all the people who come for you would be so much happier.”

“People come for me?” He asked, in slight shock.

Lance placed his hand on his forehead. “You’re the owner, you should know your customers a bit more.”

“Lance, you up for the leftovers?” Asked Hunk, coming out of the kitchen holding cakes he had made that morning in a small carrier bag.

“You know it buddy.” He said, heading to grab his dinner.

“Hunk,” called Shiro. “I need your help using the computer. Pidge updated the software again with weird functions and you’re the only one who can make any sense of her work.”

“Give me a sec.” said the chef, handing Lance the bag. “I just need to finish cleaning up a bit while Keith finishes with the knife maintenance and I’m good to go. You’re still up to go for a swim after this?”

“I have all I need in my bag over there.” Said Shiro, gesturing to the backpack sitting at the bottom the spiraling stairs to the left of the entrance, which lead to Shiro and Lance’s living space.

“Awesome!” Said Hunk before disappearing in the kitchen once again.

“How did we do today, owner?” Asked Lance as he headed towards the counter.

“Pretty good for a cloudy day. It’s reassuring since it’s supposed to be pretty stormy next week.”

“See? All you need is Lancey Lance to come into his shift with a smile and your worries are gone!” He said, showing a dashing smile. Shiro could almost swear he saw a sparkle on the right corner of his mouth.

Shiro let out a small laugh. “Who knew I just needed to hire you to do just that?” Lance showed a satisfied expression. “By the way, you don’t have to come in during the storms if you don’t want to.” He added.

Lance’s smile fell for a second before it rose back up again, although perhaps a bit too forced. “Why would storms scare me? I can’t let the store go on with just you for days. I’ll be fine.”

“You sure?” Asked the owner, concerned.

Lance’s forced smile fell to a slightly sadder, but more genuine smile. “Yeah. I’m fine.”

“We’re ready!” said Hunk as he and Keith came out of the kitchen, taking off their blouses and grabbing their beach bags.

“Have fun guys!” Said Lance as he took off his apron and went to hang it on the wall.

“You never come with us…” whined Hunk.

“Are you afraid of water or something?” Asked Keith. Although there seemed to be no ill intent in the boy’s words, they always seemed to irk Lance.

“I just don’t understand what the fun is in messing around in it when you can stay dry and tan nicely right here.” He said, crossing his arms in protest.

“You might meet someone at the beach!” Argued Hunk, trying to get his friend to accompany them.

“Meet someone? With Mr. 30-year-old killjoy over there?” He said, gesturing towards Keith with his thumb, his arms still crossed.

“Hey! I’m 20!” Claimed Keith, also crossing his arms.

Lance gasped. “You really need to invest in face masks.”

“Whatever,” said Keith, pulling his bag up on his left shoulder. “Let’s go. See ya, asshole.”

“See ya, mullet. See you later guys”

Lance watched them leave from behind the counter, smiling and waving back to Hunk who was walking backwards to ensure the longest goodbye possible. The shop seemed so quiet when he stood alone in it. He grabbed the remote which controlled the speakers and turned up the volume of the folk tune that Shiro liked.

He didn’t like quiet.

Growing up in a large family, it was hard to remember a day when he wasn’t constantly surrounded by the laughs and complaints of his brothers and sisters and extended family who seemed to think they lived in his home. There was always talking, music, the occasional song of a whale. The quiet meant he was away from the people he loved.

And so the quiet was scary.

 

********

 

“Everything okay Keith?”

Shiro came back from his 5k swim he got in the habit of doing to stay in shape and was walking towards the young man lying under the beach umbrella, avoiding the sun.

“Thinking.” Keith answered, keeping his eyes turned towards the plain red and white stripes of his cover. He wore his usual red cowboy hat and sunglasses. Lance had once teased him for an entire day about that hat, which just made him wear it even more out of spite.

Shiro sat down and looked into his bag for his water bottle. “About?”

Keith sat up and shuffled up to be on the same level as Shiro. “Why the hell would someone come and live in a coastal town if they hate water?”

“This is about Lance I assume?”

“How did you even come to hire him? He just showed up one day and said that he was working here and that he was staying at your place.”

Shiro stopped drinking and handed the water bottle over to Keith, who graciously accepted the refreshment. “I know his family. They used to come up here every year to play tourists. When he came to my door one night and asked me for a place to stay I couldn’t say no.”

“He just… came to you during the night? Did he fall out with his family?”

Shiro showed a troubled expression, eyes turned towards the ocean. “That’s not my place to say. You should ask him. He might tell you.”

Keith laid back down, unsatisfied with Shiro’s answer. Lance? Having trouble? He just couldn’t picture it. Every single day, the blue-eyed man would smile, flirt, and annoy, from morning to night. He slept until the café opened at 11 am, and seemed to be out every night, even though he never accompanied them to the beach. Did he even have time in his “busy schedule” for worry? The only thing the tanned boy should be worried about was Keith’s fist to his face if he kept pushing his buttons like he was.

They didn’t talk about Lance for the rest of their time on the beach, too occupied helping Hunk with his sand castle. Sandcastles with Hunk were serious, and Keith’s knife skills were often demanded for intricate patterns of the chef’s design. When the sun started to set, they walked back to their cars. Keith was halfway home when he realised he forgot his phone in the café. Choosing to enjoy the clear days before the storms came, he decided to use the scenic route by the beach. He suddenly stopped his travel as he saw Lance walking on the sand with a small backpack, heading towards one of the cave formations.

 _What, so he likes going to the beach, just not with us?_ He couldn’t help but think. Annoyed that he was being lied to, he parked his car, choosing to confront the annoying waiter. The way Lance was being cautious intrigued him however, and so he chose to sneak and see what the man was up to.

 

Lance threaded carefully on the sharp rocks that lead to the small cave he had come to know so well these past few months. Laying his bag down at the end of the shallow rock formation, he looked around in the night, checking for any kind of movement. After reassuring himself, he started undressing. It felt nice to be out of human clothes. He still hadn’t quite grown used to them. He walked towards the ocean. The water which engulfed his feet was cold, but felt like home. He dove into the water, his feet came closer and closer together until they formed a single tail, coated by dark blue scales, gently reflecting the moonlight. His gills spread out from behind his ears, and he felt as if he could finally breathe again.

He swam straight to his destination, just beyond where the coral stopped, his eyes desperately looking for any familiar movements. The view of unending darkness always made him remember _that day,_ although he made no effort to forget it. Everything was going so well. His family had left for their annual trip in their favourite human town. There was a storm, but it didn’t bother them while under the water. If only…If only he hadn’t tried to help the human ship.

If he had stayed under water. If everyone had stayed under water. Why did they think that they would have enough time before the tornado came to take them?

Now, he was alone.

Even after being sent kilometers away from their destination, he had managed to find his way back. He had thought that they would all be waiting for him there. In the place where they had formed so many happy memories.

But he was alone there.

So he started to call. Again, and again. Day after day.

He sat on the edge of the corral, bringing his tail closer and closer to him as the hours went by with silence. No matter how much he called, no matter how sore his voice became from incessant vocalising, the quiet was the only being who answered his plea.

And the quiet was scary.

He could feel tears forming in his eyes. He felt stupid. It was only one more day. One more day out of hundreds he had spent in this crushing silence. But it was _One more day._ More time without any news from his parents, brothers, sisters, any sign of the people he loved being alive. He let the tears mix with the water around him, his face down facing his tails, surrounded by his arms.

Still, he kept calling.

As a way to cope, as a prayer. He kept calling out, his voice distorted by his sobs.

As the sun started to rise, the wildlife woke up along with it. The coral behind him surged with voices from its residents.

The quiet was gone.

Slowly, he swam back, his eyes still red from crying. Raising himself unto a rock close to the cave in order to dry himself, it took him a few seconds to notice Keith sitting next to the bag which contained his clothes. He stood stunned, unsure of what to do.

“Do you need a towel?” asked Keith, seemingly unshaken by this whole situation.

“What…Why?” He barely managed to get out as his mind tried to make sense of what was happening. His voice was still shaking, and Keith didn’t miss it.

“Did you get separated from your family?”

Keith’s tone was sincere, caring. Lance would never have even imagined the man talking to him in this way.

“Yeah.” He answered. It felt strange to talk about it to someone other than Shiro. “In a storm.”

“So you come here every day?”

“Yeah.”

“I see.”

There was awkward silence as neither of them really knew what to say. Keith was the one who broke the silence once again.

“Sorry.”

“About what?” Asked Lance, confused as to why the man was apologising to him.

“For criticising you for not coming to the beach with us. It would be bad if you got splashed accidentally and your tail came out.”

“Ah, yeah…” Lance couldn’t help but be thrown off by Keith's complete lack of reaction about his identity.

“If I can be of help just tell me.”

“Sure but…” Lance let out.

“But?”

“You’re not…weirded out that I’m a mermaid?”

Keith looked surprised. “Why would I?”

“I have a frigging tail, Keith!”

“Oh,” Keith realised what he hadn’t told him yet. “I’m half-alien so…”

Lance looked at him, wide-eyed, before almost screaming.

“You’re what!?”

 

 


	2. Phones are nice

Shiro was having his morning coffee in the café’s dining room, watching the sun rise and smelling the cakes Hunk was baking for the day. There were hardly any clouds in the sky today. A sign of a good day for them. He sipped his coffee, enjoying the peace of the early morning.

It didn’t last long, however.

He barely had enough time to spot the man from inside the shop when the door came slamming open, accompanied by a highly distraught Lance. His hair was still wet from what he assumed was his daily outings into the sea. The owner started to get worried, basing himself on Lance’s panicked expression. Had something happened to his family?

“Did you know!?”

“What?” He asked, wondering if he had done anything wrong. He saw Keith rushing towards them from the direction Lance came. Why was Keith here?

Lance observed the mullet-wearing man from the corner of his eyes and backed up slightly, pointing at him from the side. “That he’s an alien!” He screamed.

Shiro stood stunned for a few seconds.

“Half-alien!” Argued Keith.

Hunk came out of the kitchen, lured out by the screaming. “What’s this about someone being an alien?” he asked.

Lance kept pointing to Keith.

“Oh, Keith?” He remarked casually. “Yeah. I thought you knew.”

“What is wrong with you people?!”

Keith’s anger kept growing. “Stop freaking out! I didn’t freak out when I found out about you!”

“And that was super weird!” Argued Lance. “Who says nothing when they find out their friend is a mermaid?!”

“You’re a mermaid?!” Hunk exclaimed, wide-eyed. “That’s so cool!”

Lance pointed to Hunk with his arm. “See! Just a little recognition would have been nice!”

“You were crying!” Said Keith. “What did you want me to do?”

“I don’t know!” said Lance, bringing his hand towards his face and away again, trying to keep his cool. “But at least a small comment would have been nice!”

“I couldn’t tell you how pretty you were in _those_ circumstances! It would have been weird!”

Silence fell on the room as Keith’s words resonated in the small space. A silence which lasted too long for one to be comfortable.

Shiro coughed. “I’m…going to wash my face.” He said, taking his cup of coffee up the spiraling stairs.

Lance stood there, facing Keith. He was at loss of what to do. His mind screamed at him to brush off the comment. To put his elbow on Keith’s shoulder and tease him about it, the way he was used to teasing the man. He knew exactly what to do, but he had no idea how to bring himself to. His mind was still hazy from the crying, and he was falling asleep as he was standing.

“I’m…going to sleep.” He finally said. Without turning back, he climbed up the stairs, leaving Hunk and Keith alone in the shop.

The chef came closer to Keith, whose eyes unconsciously followed the mermaid. “I didn’t know your tastes included mermaids.” He said with a cheeky grin.

“Not now Hunk.”

Keith wondered if the events of that night would have a repercussion on their relationship, but Lance acted as usual when he came down for his shift.

Correction.

He was even more annoying than usual.

His initial fear of Keith’s origins had changed into unending curiosity. The half-alien wasn’t able to spend 10 minutes without Lance running into the kitchen and questioning him along with every order he brought with him. Some he ignored, some he answered, some he wanted to throw his entire artillery of kitchen knives at the waiter.

Days went on, with Lance’s curiosity decreasing slowly. They stopped inviting him to their daily beach outings, and Keith’s usual complaints about Lance’s sleeping habits had turned into a warm cup of cocoa waiting for the mermaid as he woke up.

But then the storm came.

Black clouds slowly etched their way over land as the sun rose, as if following Lance on his way back to the café. He remembered the conversation he had with Shiro. _I’m fine._ He thought. _I’m fine._ He kept repeating it, as a charm, as a way to convince himself.

Shiro kept a close eye on the waiter as the day went on and the upcoming storm became more and more present. Lance showed his usual smile, even flirted a bit more than he usually did. Perhaps he had been telling the truth. Perhaps he was fine.

Only a few customers were left in the small corner shop, waiting out the rain that looked like a curtain of water on the glass walls. The sound of thunder filled the shop.

Lance dropped his platter.

Shiro rushed over to see if he was okay but ended up being brushed off as Lance quickly picked up everything and apologised to the customer before heading back to the kitchen.

“Hunk, I need another helping of table 5’s order.”

“You okay man?” Asked the chef as he put another cake on the tray.

“Of course I am! It takes more than that to bring Lancey Lance down.” He said with a wink. Still, Hunk and Keith exchanged a look of worry.

Lance looked up at the clock hung up on the wall behind the counter. Nearly 3 pm. He could do it. Just two more hours to go.

_I’m fine._

_I’m fine._

It was around 4 pm that Shiro decided to step in. He took Lance’s tray out of his hands as he came out of the kitchen.

“Lance, go up and rest.”

“What? No, there’s only about an hour left I’m fine!”

“This is my shop. And I want you to go up and have some rest.”

“I’m telling you I can do this!”

“If you won’t go up on your own I’m going to have to use extreme measures.” Said Shiro, letting the tray down on the counter and crossing his arms.

“Like what?” Lance knew that he was probably answering exactly like Shiro wanted him to, but he was too tired to play mind games.

A grin formed on Shiro’s face. It sent chills down Lance’s spine. “Keith!” Shiro called.

“On it.” They heard from inside the kitchen. Lance stood still, confused.

It took barely a few seconds for Keith to come out and grab the mermaid by his waist, lifting it up on his left shoulder. Lance struggled as much as he could, but he was unable to free himself.

“Let me go mullet!” He said in a relatively quiet voice in order not to bother the customers who were already quite intrigued by the sight.

But his pleas were ignored as he was brought up the stairs and thrown unto his bed.

“Stay.” Keith said before closing the door behind him.

“What am I? A dog??”

Lance only heard the sound of footsteps heading down the stairs, soon melting with the soothing buzz of chatter coming up from the café. He wanted to go back down. He couldn’t just sit around in bed when Shiro was downstairs working, but he knew he would just be pushed away again if he tried to go and work. Falling on his bed back first, he tried to be at peace with himself. The irregular thunder interrupting his thoughts didn’t help, however. He left his room quietly and sat down just next to the stairs, concentrating on the chatter and movements of the shop. Enjoying the gentle noise.

He only realised he had fallen asleep when he heard light footsteps climbing the stairs, and noticed that all the customers had gone. Keith crouched down next to him.

“You’re ok?”

“Yeah.” He said, still feeling groggy. “What time is it?”

“It’s a little before 7. Shiro and Hunk went to buy ingredients, I just finished cleaning up.”

Lance rested his head back on the wall. “Sorry, that’s usually my job.”

“It’s fine.” Said Keith, heading back down. “You want anything to drink?”

Lance stood up slowly. He could still hear the storm raging outside, and he hated to admit that it made his legs tremble slightly. “I’m good.” He said. “I need to head out anyway.”

Keith stopped in the middle of the stairs. “You’re kidding. Right?”

“What?” asked Lance, confused.

“You are not going out in this storm!”

“Oh yes I am.” He said, going into his room to grab his back and coat. “As long as there’s a slimmer of chance my family is out there, I’m going.”

“You can barely stand straight when you hear thunder! How on earth do you think you’ll be able to do anything out there?!”

“I’ll be underwater, I’ll be fine.”

“I’m not letting you go.”

“Keith!” Lance Shouted. He wasn’t energetic enough to keep arguing. “There’s a chance that my family is out there right now! And they could be endangering themselves –” His voice started breaking. “-in the storm to look for me. Or washed up.” He couldn’t help letting his tears flow. “I need to go.”

“No.”

Lance sighed out of exasperation. Why wouldn’t he understand? Weren’t they friends?

“I’ll go.” Keith said, determined.

The mermaid looked at him in shock. “…What?”

“I’ll stay inside the cave to get out of the rain and keep an eye out for anything I can see.”

“What? No. you don’t need to.”

“I’m doing it.” Said Keith, heading straight towards his coat hanging just next to the exit.

Lance watched in awe as Keith’s footsteps resonated in the small space, determined, straightforward, just like he was. The mermaid had always admired Keith’s drive and confidence, although he would never admit it to anyone.

“Wait!” Lance shouted just before Keith walked out.

“I told you I’m doing it.”

“Yeah…Thanks…” He said, trying to get a grasp on the situation. “Do you know if Shiro took his phone with him? I want to put music on and it’s on there. I’m not…good with silence.”

Keith remembered the sight of the lone mermaid, sitting in quiet darkness, starting to understand a bit more about the one standing next to him.

“He did.” Keith said, looking for a solution somewhere. “Do you have a phone?”

“Shiro got one for me a few weeks ago, I still don’t really know how to use it though.”

“Bring it down.”

Confused, but already too grateful to Keith, Lance followed his instructions. It took him a few moments to find the strange human device, but when he did, he brought it straight down to the heavily covered man in front of the door.

Keith took it in his hands and started to dial a number, a few moments later, his own phone rang. He brought it up to his ear. “There, that way you have noise and I can keep you updated on whatever happens.”

Lance noticed Keith’s words coming out of his phone, and brought it closer to his ear as well, mimicking the black haired man.

“Thanks.” He said.

“I’m off.” Keith’s words resonated in the small shop and inside his ear through the strange device. It was strangely reassuring.

Lance waved as Keith walked towards the beach, braving the cold rain. He held the phone close as Keith described his trip. A cat was crossing the road in a hurry. A man was running in shorts, holding an umbrella much smaller than what was needed to fend off the pouring water. The town seemed weirdly empty, which Keith said he thought was quite nice, and that he hoped it would be like this more often. Lance laughed, saying that if Keith had his way, he would probably build a secret hideout on top of a mountain and never come out.

Keith didn’t deny it.

They chatted without stopping. Both surprised that they had so much to talk about. Lance felt remarkably calm, and made himself a nice cup of warm cocoa, sending warmth Keith’s way.

“That’s not how heat works.” Said Keith, laughing.

“At least I’m trying.” Argued Lance.

Keith sat inside the shallow cave, observing the sea moving violently with the winds, reporting anything he could think of.

“Do you see your family a lot?” Asked Lance, having a hard time thinking of any other topics as he visualised Keith sitting next to the ocean.

“I’m an orphan.”

“Oh.”

There were a few seconds of silence over the phone.

“I’m sorry.” Lance added.

“You’re not going to ask what happened?”

“I’m trying to _not_ think of any scenario where I end up in the same situation right now.”

“I get it. For now, let’s pretend I have four parents living on a farm with six cows and ten ducks, and I see them every weekend.”

“What are cows?” asked Lance, intrigued.

Keith tried his best to explain the animal, not being entirely familiar with them himself, and he could tell that the mermaid got more and more confused by his words.

“So the milk just…comes out of them? The thing that I put in my hot chocolate?”

“Pretty much.”

“And everyone just knows and accepts that?”

“Yep.”

Lance stared at his almost empty cup, slowly realising what he had done all this time.

“Humans are weird.”

“Says the guy with a tail.”

They laughed, it was nice. They never really had had any occasion to speak alone together, and it was much more enjoyable than they both had ever imagined.

The rain got even thicker than it was before, and Lance grew worried.

“Hey, Keith.”

“Yeah?”

“You can come back.”

“We still have hours until sunrise though.”

“The storm’s getting worse, it might be dangerous inside the cave.”

“You sure?” Asked Keith, concerned.

“Just get your ass back here, mullet.”

And so, Keith made his way back to the café. He continued to tell the tales of his return over the phone. The sand was hard, and made it easier to walk back to the road. There was a woman getting out of her car and rushing into a building, trying not to trip in her heels.

“Oh, is she pretty?”

“No idea. You know I’m as straight as boiled spaghetti.”

Lance stayed quiet for a few seconds. “As …as what!?” He said, desperately holding back laughter.

“What?” Asked Keith, offended. It only helped to make Lance laugh out loud. “Hunk told me it was a good description!”

Lance’s laugh only intensified over the phone. “Spaghetti!” He repeated like a madman. “Freaking Spaghetti!”

“Lance!” Keith could barely hear his voice over the manic laughter. It took a few minutes of Keith’s grumbling to make him stop.

“Okay, okay. I’m over it. Sorry. I’ll forget about it, okay?”

They changed the subject as Keith continued to narrate his journey. He looked back to the beach one last time before heading into the town, thinking of what he would do if he had family there, and what Lance must have felt, calling him back to the café. Maybe there was more kindness inside the man than he had realised.

He arrived back at the café, put his drenched coat on the hanger, and found Lance looking at him from one of the nearby tables. He was smiling weirdly.

“Spaghetti.” Lance couldn’t help but let out, obviously holding back from laughing.

Keith threw his phone at him.

_Nevermind._

 


End file.
